A Different Spirit

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and serves me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Number 14:28 (NLT)

I was watching Mikey skip in the grass, play in the dirt, and pick up “flowers” (weeds). I was agitated. All of this would have been totally normal and OK with me, except he was on the soccer field! He was supposed to be kicking the ball or at least running after it. Half of me thought, “Ahhh, this is his first season, give him a break.” The other more competitive part of me thought, “I don’t care if he is actually good at soccer or if he even kicks the ball, but he better listen to his coach, pay attention, and at least give it his best shot.” I was mulling over whether or not to pull Mikey aside and say something when my husband stepped in.

God had presented him with the perfect opportunity to give Mikey a little “pep talk”. His cleats had become untied and so Rod called him aside and tied shoes. As he was tying his shoes I heard, “Hey Mikey…” Ah man, I could not make out the rest of what he said. Mikey went back on the field, and the coach blew the whistle. Mikey shot out after the ball with such veracity that he and his opponent collided and Mikey did a somersault over the ball. I was shocked! The very next play was just as shocking. Mikey ran after the ball with such intensity that he even chased the ball out of bounds. I found myself laughing hysterically. That was my Mikey! I cheered for him as loud as I could!

I was curious. “Babe, what did you say to Mikey?” He said I just told him, “Hey Mikey! I did not get off of work early to watch you play in the dirt, pick flowers, and put grass in your mouth. I got off of work early to watch you play soccer. So go out there and do your best!” And he gave him a big hug.

As he told me that little piece of information, I was shocked. That was it?! It was so simple, yet so direct. We really don’t care if Mikey scores a goal (although that would be great), we just want to see him play wholeheartedly…to go out there and do his best. More than that, we hope that one day he will live wholeheartedly like Caleb did, and have an unconquerable spirit for God or what the Bible calls a “different spirit”.

I was thinking about how this applies to my life, and like all other good character traits that I wish to nurture in my children, I realized that I need to model it first. It’s like I could hear God saying to me, “Teresa, I didn’t die on the cross so you could…be so concerned about being politically correct that you don’t talk about me to the other mom at the park. I didn’t die on the cross so that you…would watch that piece of trash on TV because it’s the popular show right now. I didn’t die on the cross so that you would…hold back on telling your girlfriend the truth in love because you are afraid of hurting her feelings. I died on the cross so that you could be free of other people’s opinions and expectations and that you could live wholeheartedly for me.”

So, what about you? In what ways could you live more wholeheartedly for the Lord and see him do in your life and in your children’s lives what He did for Caleb?

Heavenly Father,
I thank you that your Word is so full of wonderful examples and divine encouragement about how to live this life. Help us to love you and your ways. Help us to live for you wholeheartedly and not be concerned about what other people will think of us. Only your opinion matters. Help us put feet to our faith and run like crazy for you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

For more great info about the life of Caleb, check out: Numbers 13 & 14; Joshua 14. You will be blessed and encouraged! :)